I’ve taken a deep dive into the Welsh Grand National at Chepstow, one of the biggest races held during the festive period. It’s run over a marathon distance of 3m 6.5f, during which the contenders have 23 fences to negotiate. Up until 2019, the Welsh Grand National was run over a slightly shorter trip of 3m 5f and 110 yards, but the distance was increased to provide a longer run to the first bend, which also allowed the number of fences to increase from 22 to 23. I’ve picked out what I think were the top three performances across the last 25 renewals of this race.
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I have analysed the last 25 renewals of the Welsh Grand National. and from those I’ve selected the three most noteworthy winners. This was tough, and horses like Notre Pere, Halcon Genelardais and Nassalam have sadly missed the cut, but they certainly deserve an honourable mention. However, the three horses I’ve picked truly stand out. Here I’ll tell you why I rate their performances so highly.
Synchronised’s big weight-carrying Welsh Grand National win in 2010!
Taking the third spot, we have Synchronised for Jonjo O’Neill, JP McManus and AP McCoy. In the 2010 renewal of the Welsh Grand National (run in January 2011), Synchronised raced wide throughout. As they turned for home, he had made his way into third place. After briefly being outpaced, and dropping to fourth, he began to respond to AP McCoy’s drive, and jumped into second place at the third last fence. By this point he had Giles Cross firmly in his sights, and caught up with him at the second last. Synchronised started to move clear approaching the last, and powered up the run-in, to beat Giles Cross by nearly three lengths.
He carried 11st 6lb to victory that day, which was particularly notable, as he gave over a stone to the horses who came second, third, fourth and fifth. It’s also worth noting that Giles Cross went on to produce form figures of 2121 in his next four starts, strengthening that Chepstow form. That said, Synchronised well and truly franked the form himself. After Chepstow he placed in the Midlands Grand National, before winning two Grade 1s: the Lexus Chase at Leopardstown, and then the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Synchronised went straight from his victory in the Cheltenham Gold Cup to the Aintree Grand National, where he sadly suffered a fatal fall. A high-profile example of the rollercoaster of emotions that this sport can put you through. An ultimate high followed by an ultimate low.
Elegant Escape showed stamina and grit to gain his 2018 victory!
Second spot goes to Colin Tizzard’s Elegant Escape, for his Welsh Grand National performance in 2018. Vieux Lion Rouge set a relentless gallop in front in this renewal, one which saw many horses struggling to cope, ultimately resulting in ten of the horses in the field being pulled up. While most struggled to handle the tempo, Elegant Escape tracked it throughout.
Yala Enki took over from Vieux Lion Rouge at the 17th, ensuring that the pace remained ferocious, with nowhere to hide. He moved four lengths clear at five out, but Elegant Escape was still tracking him. Elegant Escape made his challenge two out, and moved into the lead shortly after. With 11st 8lb on his back, he had one last challenge to fend off, which came from Ramses De Teillee. However, Elegant Escape was not for passing on the run-in, and he somehow kept on strongly to secure victory.
Despite the depth of competition, the brutal gallop, and 11st 8lb to carry, Elegant Escape managed to maintain some excellent jumping under huge pressure. For those reasons, I rate his 2018 performance as the second best in the last 25 years. Ironically, Elegant Escape has only been denied my top spot by a horse that came out of the same Dorset-based yard.
Deciding on the best Welsh Grand National performance in the last 25 years was actually an easy decision for me, and it’s the mighty Native River. Most would be happy with just winning the Welsh Grand National, but Native River had a truly remarkable campaign during the 2016/17 season. Before even heading to the Welsh Grand National, he won the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury off a mark of 155. He came to the Welsh Grand National off the same mark and won that too.
Approaching the fourth last, he had Houblon Des Obeaux within a length or so. However, he put in a huge leap and impressively put the best part of 10 lengths between him and his nearest rival, before reaching the next fence. Whilst Raz De Maree rallied to put in a late challenge, Native River was always holding on. The performance generated a monstrous RPR of 174!
Whilst some would argue that Native River was entitled to win the Welsh Grand National, given that he was 8lb well in after his Hennessy Gold Cup victory, it is worth noting that he carried 11st 12lb. The reason he didn’t have to carry a penalty is because no penalty can increase a horse's weight above 11st 12lb. But irrespective of that, Native River proved himself worthy after moving up to Grade 2 company, and winning the Denman Chase. Even more impressively, he returned to win the Denman Chase again the following season, before going on to win the 2018 Cheltenham Gold Cup!
Native River was a very special horse!
There have been many great performances in the Welsh Grand National. It was especially hard to determine which horses deserved the second and third spots, as I could have easily made a case for five or six, but Native River really was a fantastic racehorse. He was a three-time winner over Hurdles, including at Listed level. His novice season over fences saw him gain three victories, including wins at Grade 2 and Grade 1, as well as places in Listed, Grade 2, and Grade 1 races.
The fact that he went on to win the Hennessy Gold Cup, the Welsh Grand National, and the Denman Chase as a second-season Chaser would be more than enough for most. However, Native River took it to new levels by landing back-to-back renewals of the Denman Chase, and the most prestigious race of them all, the Cheltenham Gold Cup, making virtually all. He was subsequently raised to a much-deserved Handicap rating of 176.
Native River didn’t stop there either, he went on to win a further three Grade 2s, taking his total tally of wins up to 14. He also finished in the first four in another five Grade 1s and his career earnings exceeded £1,100,000 by the time he retired at the end of 2021. I wish you could bottle his attitude, as he was such a game horse, and in my opinion, no other Welsh Grand National performance can match his 2016 victory.
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